U.S. Stock Futures Lower Wednesday

Premarket futures were indicating traders of U.S. stocks were ready to take profits Wednesday, the morning after Sen. Barack Obama won the presidential election.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 17 points at 987 and were 18 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures were lower by 25 points at 1356 and were 25 short of fair value.

On Tuesday, the major averages finished with strong gains as traders took in encouraging earnings statements and anticipated the resolution of the presidential race.

Ahead of Wednesday's session, several corporate headlines were detracting from buying sentiment. Solar panel maker SunPower (SPWRA) reduced its fourth-quarter and 2009 earnings figures, saying a strengthening dollar vs. the euro would hurt its results.

Homebuilder KB Home (KBH) cut its quarterly dividend 75%, citing a goal of maintaining a strong financial position.

Aircraft maker Boeing (BA) announced that its 787 Dreamliner program was suffering delays because it needs to replace improperly attached fasteners on the new jets.

Another day brought additional earnings statements. Time Warner(TWX) reported a slight drop in third-quarter earnings and reduced its 2008 earnings forecasts because of additional restructuring it expects to incur. Bond insurer Ambac (ABK) reported a third-quarter loss that was substantially wider than a year ago. A bit later Wednesday, fellow insurer MBIA (MBI) is expected to report.

Shifting to economic data, Automatic Data Processing is set to release its payroll figures for October. Investors also will be taking in the Institute for Supply Management's services index.